horse of a different color
by A. X. Zanier
Summary: Prompt story A/N: Happens early in my Alyx Silver AU. Prompt: "I'm a thief, I'm an honest thief."


My muse was being annoying and not allowing me to prep for NaNo or work on my small bang story, so I gave them free reign and this is the result.

Prompt story

A/N: Happens early in my Alyx Silver AU.

Prompt: "I'm a thief, I'm an honest thief."

.

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"I'm a thief, but I'm an honest thief!"

Alyx snorted. "Isn't that an oxymoron?"

Darien sighed and ducked his head. He should have known she wouldn't understand. You could be a bad guy, like a mobster for example, and still have a code of honor. Given her background, her ordinary life prior to the Agency, it made sense that she had a different perspective on good and evil. Until coming here she'd only know what her sheltered life permitted. Married, kids, the perfect blonde blue-eyed superman of a husband, big house, two cars, private schools. An ordinary life for an ordinary woman.

Except she had turned out to be anything but ordinary.

"Not really," he told her. "Do you think I'm dishonest?"

She laughed. "Every day."

He shook his head. "You are only saying that because you don't trust anyone." He reached out and tweaked her nose, eliciting a momentary smile.

She turned away, hiding behind the glass of beer as she took the time to come up with an appropriate response.

He expected snark but ended up surprised when she said, "That's not really true, though. I wouldn't let you in my apartment at one in the morning if I didn't trust you at least a little."

"So, you're saying you trust someone who is inherently bad?" He wanted to understand her, which had turned out to be quite the challenge given she endeavored to hide every part of her from, not just him, but everyone at the Agency. He knew she had had an entire life before coming here, one that seemed to get mentioned more in passing than actually discussed.

Made sense, he supposed; she had to protect herself above all else. Though he suspected that family she tried to avoid talking about to be the real reason. She tried to separate her now with her past; a past he knew she could not return to. At least not easily and without putting said family at greater harm than her loss had.

She shrugged her shoulders ever so slightly, a shy smile momentarily lighting up her features. "I never said you were _bad_ , just dishonest."

"There's a difference?" he asked, truly wondering.

"Clearly." She shook her head, making those fiery curls wave about her face in a way he liked far too much. Thankfully they were out at a local bar tonight and not back at her place as he might not be able to resist the temptation she always became for very long. "Look, I've got a damn good idea of who you are on the inside thanks to my control being less than stellar, so, yes, I don't believe you are bad. However, you are a thief and liar; two things you certainly don't deny."

Darien opened his mouth, an argument at the ready, but a raised hand forestalled his defensive words.

"That is not a bad thing in and of itself. You need to be able to lie convincingly in this business, even more so than as a thief." She shrugged. "Can you be a good man and a thief? I believe so yes. Can you have a moral code? Yes. But can you be honest and be a thief? Guess that depends on why you are stealing."

Urf. Darien hadn't expected this to turn into a moral discussion on the whys of his life choices. Granted when he'd first gotten into the thieving gig it had been mostly out of pre-teenaged angst and drama. Dares tossed out and won only to discover he had a knack for getting into other people's homes and walking away with their valuables… or semi-valuables as the case may have been. Then he'd crossed paths with Liz and she'd obviously seen his potential both as a thief and scapegoat should the excrement hit the rotating blades. She'd taken his natural talent and honed it with precision.

Alyx sipped at her beer watching him with wide innocent eyes that he knew saw far more than he currently liked. "So, why do you steal?"

He shook his head, not certain how to answer that. "Does there need to be a reason?"

"For choosing what had essentially been your career? Your way of making a living? Yeah, I'd say there is a reason behind it." She set the empty glass down and waved at the waitress who been avoiding their table while they had been what had turned out to be quite the serious discussion. "Are you Robin Hood or the Pink Panther?"

He laughed at that. "Neither. I mean it was definitely my source of income, but I never made any really big scores, like the Panthers have. And I definitely didn't give away what I made, except to pay bills. I just…" He paused, thinking as the waitress dropped off a couple more brews along with bowls of chips and salsa. She gave him a winsome smile and then walked away, her hips swaying in a delightful manner that would have intrigued him had Alyx not been with him. "I guess I never really thought about the whys of it." He rubbed the back of his head. "My dad was a thief, not that I remember much about it, so when I figured out I had a knack for second story break-ins…" He shrugged. "I just went with it, I guess. I love the details, the intricacy of it, using the skills, and the rush of the heist, of course. But I was taught if the job is done right, no one gets hurt. Physically anyway. Guess losing one's family jewels hurts, till the insurance pays off."

Alyx snorted at his turn of phrase, making him smile in return. "Followed in your father's footsteps?"

"I know, the guy who tries to buck every trend and rule going into the family business."

She laughed and it looked wonderful on her.

"Given my uncle was pushing me into science as hard as he could, and Kevin being the perfect son, it seemed the easiest way to rebel was to be just like dear ol' dad."

"Plus it makes the statement that your uncle was most certainly not your dad."

Oof. Excellent observation and not wrong, he had to admit. He had decided to be a good son to the wrong role model. Made sense back when he'd been an unhappy and too-smart-for-his-own-good tweenager, but now… well, now he could see exactly what he'd been doing and why. "I thought the point of this discussion was if I could be an honest and a thief?"

"Yes, you can be honest and a thief. But an honest thief is a horse of different color." She leaned back in the cushions, put that additional distance between them, almost as if she knew she'd pushed her point a touch too far.

She hadn't. Not really. But it had forced him to take a look at his motives he'd thought set in stone for most of his life.

He kind of hated how she did that.

He ran his hands through hair, the frustration there, but mild for a change. She usually had him tied in knots long before now. She'd gone easy on him tonight. "I'd like to think I was honest about why I was a thief, at least to myself, but now I ain't so sure." He picked up a chip and wagged it at her before scooping up a mound of salsa with it. "I hate when you do that."

She smiled that sneaky little smile at him that made his heart melt and stomach churn in unrequited lust.

"You love being a thief, Dare, and anything that makes a person happy, truly happy, can't be all bad," she said this with such seriousness that had no doubts she meant the words.

"Can't disagree with that, darlin'. I love my job and if it wasn't for being sidetracked by the Agency, would still be loving it every chance I have." He paused to take a long slow drink from his beer then met her eyes squarely. "And you, what do you love?"

Her gaze turned pained and he regretted the question, but it had already been said and could not be taken back, so he waited patiently for an answer he knew he might not like.

"Today, nothing. Tomorrow," She shrugged, "we'll have to wait and see I suppose."

He nodded, not wanting to push what clearly had become an unexpectedly touchy subject. "Fair enough. How about hate? Anything you hate?"

She managed a smile for him, though it failed to touch her eyes. "Ah, a subject we can both extol upon I am certain. Work related or non?"

He grinned. "Let's start with non and go from there."

.

 _finis_


End file.
